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Best place to stay
Sorrento really is a great place to say for the whole Bay of Naples area. You get great access to transport and its a nice place in of itself. Its not a beachy place at all, but then neither is the area generally, just so you know. While there are lots of nice hillside places that look a good idea in a brochure, I would think practical and stay in town, near where you get your trains and buses and have access down to the harbour below for boats. Its a really nice town and I'm sure you'll find a nice place that is conveniently located for transport.
Naples
Many people, including myself, make the mistake of thinking, Bay of Naples ..... ah yes, so stay in Naples. Wrong. Yes Naples is horrible in general. Just trust me and the others who have said so. However, there are worthy things in Naples you can target and from Sorrento it is an easy day trip by train. I wouldn't give it more than that though. Other places the train goes to in the area can be done almost as easily from Sorrento as if from Naples. I stayed half in Naples then moved for the second half to Sorrento, then realised I could have done the whole thing there and nicer that would have been.
Transport from a Sorrento base
A super handy loop rail line called Circumvesuviana goes between Naples, Sorrento and around various places of interest for tourists, e.g. Pompeii ( station Pompeii Scavi ), Herculaneun ( station Ercolano Scavi then simply walk downhill ), Vesuvius. Watch yourself for pickpockets here as you would a big city metro system.
For visting Vesuvius volcanic mountain, there are buses that go from Eercolano Scavi station and I think also from Pompeii but not necessarily where you get off your train there. Just research the current position. I remember I took the bus from Pompeii to Vesuvius and then a different bus to Ercalano Scavi to visit Herculaneum, but as I say I think the bus thing from Pompeii needs to be researched by you. ( btw what I did there was rather tight for all three things in just the one day ! )
Regular bus services take you from Sorrento down the winding coastal roads south. e.g. Positano, Amalfi. Both awesome.
Boats not only take you to the islands but also hop along the coastal towns like Amalfi, Positano ( my fav ) and Sorrento.
Consider the option to use buses and boats in combination for getting up and down the coastal towns. e.g. down relatively quick by bus(es), take a boat coming back.
Be early for the buses as they crowd out with standers and along them twisting coast roads you won't be liking it if you're one of them.
Miscellaneous tips
Island of Capri :
Yes there's a boat from Sorrento.
Where you land is awful but thankfully where most folks remain. Get away from them to Ana Capri, up and over. Do it by open top taxi ! Double price compared to mainland but worth it because the small buses are awful and the open air taxi is nice and because you can stop at overlooks on the amazing cliffs of death on the way over.
From Ana Capri there's a chair lift that takes you right to the highest point and really worth doing, with fine views from the top, to the harbour and lagoons below. Maybe stop to eat up in Ana Capri.
From the arrival point down below there are nearby, boat trips as mentioned by other posters, including to the Blue Lagoon.
Time might be tight to do the high up and over thing and a longer boat trip round the island. But I would make sure you do the former. In which case perhaps a short Blue Lagoon type boat trip would suit if time is at a pinch.
Vesuvius
The buses do get you most of the way up but there is still a steep walk for the last bit. If completely unfit, bear this in mind. There is a kiosk for ice creams and drinks half way up that walk - you'll never appreciate it more !
Most important thing to say about Vesuvius, is to take a set of old dirty walking shoes you're not caring about, a change of socks a brush and a plastic bag. I'm not joking and after the walk you'll appreciate that you bothered. The dirty old ash makes an appalling mess. You need to change out of your dirtied shoes and socks, brush yourself down, change and bag or bin ( likely ) the dirty stuff.
Coastal buses
A reminder, to get there nice and early as they do crowd out.
Ravello
I missed this but everyone says this high up village is great. There are buses from Amalfi ( so two buses from Sorrento ) or there are organised excursions.
Paestum
Another thing I missed, but if you're into ancient stuff this is world class. Its a bit time consuming to get to it however. Take a bus or boat to Salerno then you can get a train.
Naples - an idea - look into recent underground excavations. I believe a lot has been happening since I was there.
Herculaneum
Many people say to pick between Pompeii and Herculaneum and Pompeii being the larger site by far usually wins. But how tragic ! If you can, really really do come to Herculaneum. Its quite different to Pompeii and in its own way, so much better i.e. the intactness of whole sections of street and of the wall murals, tiling etc, which are absolutely stunning. Also, the position of the village in relation to the volcanic mountain is so much more dramatic to the imagination than at Pompeii, as it looms above.
I timed by visit to be in the late afternoon and that worked brilliantly for the sun and photography, and also it was quiet. You'll get some really gorgeous shots of Herculaneum , copying me.
Pompeii and Herculaneum are quite different. Please do not think if you have done Pomeii there isn't a point to Herculaneum. If you can, please do both. |
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2-12-2019 22:35:04
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